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as someone who returned to ffxiv about two months ago after over a year of not playing. I'm sad. I can't do old content. There are a lot of raids/trials/etc that you have to do to unlock other ones, and I can't find a party for them. people are leaving or they're already gone. i hope this video reaches the development team.
I think endwalker is great. As someone who logs in for only 2 ish hours every few days there is plenty to do. To me it doesn't seem that deep especially with how many great games came out this year π€·ββοΈ
I guess Im confused. Isnt this normal? Ppl take breaks and come back. The difference here is that ALOT of good games are out and we are playing those as well. We arent QUITTING ff14, just taking healthy breaks.
One thing to understand is that those "Flaws" you are talking about, aren't really "Flaws" for many people. In fact, those are arguably "Strength" when compared to other MMO.
Because think about it for a sec, we're in an era of gaming where A TON of other live service games are constantly competing for our time, it always seems to be about "Retention" this, "Retention" that and how to keep people INTO the game rather than just making great content that people actively wanna play.
And as someone who's in bed with multiple other live service games, I can't tell how friggin' LIBERATING FFXIV has been for me. In the same way that Warframe has been.
Because YES, both Warframe and FFXIV are very much alike in that aspect, they don't pressure you to log in constantly and a lot of their content is "One and Done" and crazy varied, which is what sets them apart from the countless other Live service games out nowadays.
And also, you seem to be extremely positive about the "Relic Journey"… But you do realize that people, with almost ALL of the relic "Journeys", have literally BITCHED about how much of a pain/grind it was to get them in the first place… right?
Literally, go on the FFXIV forums and reddit and type "Relic Grind", I guarantee you that you'll see MANY upvoted posts talking about how the "Relic Grind" is a bitch and that it goes on for way too long. (which I personally never really agreed on, I love the journey leading up to them)
And you also seem to hold Eureka in high regard… Even though that content specifically has been and continues to be scrutinized by the playerbase even to this day.
And for Island sanctuary, I'm actually glad that they've tried something like that.
Because one of the strength of FFXIV, is the sheer variety of "endgame" style you can partake in, unlike games like Destiny 2 or WoW where the game funnels you into combat content and combat content ONLY. FFXIV has the balls to actually try something completely new and different from the usual formula. Something that both Blizzard and Bungie are deathly afraid of even doing.
So yeah… that's about it when it comes to my thoughts on the matter. while I get your points, I can't say that I personally agree with them, FFXIV has always been a Final Fantasy game first, MMO second, and that "balance", for better or for worse, is one of main driving factor that incentivizes many to actually try and stick with the game in the first place.
Some of you might not like it, but that's what the game is now going for, and it's actually working.
My friends and I have been very much in this same boat. We're largely more on the casual side, and we basically lived in Bozja during Shadowbringers. We never had a shortage of stuff to do there, and in previous expansions the relics would largely serve as a way for us to get through between patches.
This time, however, there's always that awkward moment where someone will ask, "Is there anything else we want to do?" after doing our token roulettes and it's met with ho-hums and polite ways of saying "no, not really", and we all slowly log off. It's happened way more frequently in Endwalker than any other expansion so far, and we've all been playing since Heavensward.
I almost lost my house the other day because I lost track of how long it'd been since I'd logged in and went to it, and I'm wondering if I should just relinquish it so I can unsub without worrying, and at least give someone else a chance at owning one. I look at my barren friend list with rows upon rows of offline players, and I can't say I'd be able to show it to anyone anyway.
There's just so little to keep players playing, that even the whole 'make your own fun' side like RPing or events are largely not even feasible either, because again.. you look at your friend list and are basically treated to a graveyard. This can't keep going on if we're meant to have "10 MORE YEARS" of this game.
She got a garden in her house.
this game is dead lmao
Perfect storm of bad circumstances that are all synergizing with each other negatively: End of major story arc giving impression game is over + likely resource loss from YoshiP and others as time/effort got poured into XVI closer to launch + writing drought for 6.X story as Ishikawa and co. likely spend lion's share of time on Dawntrail + ShB side content writing creating such a huge precedent to top + likely tightening time & resource budgets b/c XVI and Dawntrail and Square-Enix financials not being so hot + technical debt that has never been resolved and will now likely never be resolved + difficulty of putting in super game change-y new features b/c of old engine & limited resource + huge influx of new players in pandemic era vastly altering the stats on player expectations & feedback compared to 5.x era + end of lockdown era likely taking a fat bite out of MAUs
If XIV is what's propping up a significant % of SE's revenue numbers, the company absolutely does not seem to resource it to the level it deserves
Was heavensword the xpac that was considered best so far?
I mean i havenβt logged in for about 1 year and hoping on during this moogle event and to still seeing a que to log in seems to think that people are still playing. And to think this MMO is going to xbox a whole new huge batch of players.
honestly ive fallen into the casual level more and more over the years but this time is kinda ridiculous. I havent used an attack button in forever nor have i actually done any "casual" content as none of it interests me. AT this point i just want zodiarks space fart dragon MSQ to be done and over with so i can just rest for a while.
Patch and conten wise is Endwalker the worst expansion.
There is nothing new to do.
I used to help friends through the raid patches, but the current savage design makes it that the bosses have one big and difficult mechanic, instead of many different easier ones.
This breaks the "bad" player whom normaly could be pushed to the 3rd boss.
the story has been amazing the content that would keep you logging, at least for me, has been few and far between. Especially, if you aren't raiding. Yes, there are things that i can still do but they are lackluster for me.
It happens between every expansion. Its called a lull and it sucks, but most people return to play the next expansion.
While I agree with a lot of Zepla's takes there are some really milquetoast alarmist statements in here. I think her view is representative of what a creator and progression player experiences with the game. I think an MMO should always strive to improve quality, and in many ways ShB and EW improved a lot on production quality in general. I think if people expect some kind of breakthrough in MMO gaming akin to Heavensward with DawnT they are in for a rude awakening. But it's plenty clear that Business Unit has been improving aspects of the game that is sorely needing improving going into the future. The game has not taken a step back in terms of gameplay quality, if anything it is inert.
I also thing the title is very clickbaity and I can't help but wonder if Zepla is farming attention here. Which I really hope is not the case.
EW is the expansion I have put in the most hours in.
I feel this way at the end of SB 5.3 the story was great but nothing hold me to the game the job all were copies of each other the bosses where all the same the true is I like story but I stop liking the gameplay
Love your content Zepla but not this perspective. Depending on the content is understandable as that is what the game provides but the people you surround yourself with make the difference. Those people have kept me engaged, we have laughs, heard about their sorrowful times and in the end the bonds of friendship was strengthened. I hope your resolve improves seeing the long term with Dawnstrail as a reset.
The answer is, dev team busy
For me, I wasn't just burned out. My friend group fell apart. Nothing was fun anymore so I just lost interest and stopped playing in June.
I think we also need a mount rework like how wow copied gw 2 system. It would be awesome to fly around like that in ff14. One can only dream
FFXIV is running into the same issues that WoW did. . but faster. Endwalker would have been wow's Mists of Pandaria except Mist's was a good expac. . The next expac for FFXIV will be make or break for them. . their WOD moment.
the stuff with relic honestly comes off as people not wanting to do any current content unless relic tells them they have to specifically do only current content, like when EW deep dungeon came out I saw people saying "man why isnt this tied to relic" which.. it is? you can do deep dungeon only to get tomes for your relics, i used deep dungeon to get 2 of my relics done
YAAWN
so true i know you gonna get a lot of hate over zepla but i agree so much, the problem is they played ultra safe but the did everything from early expansion worse and get my extra spyce from the worst remake from a class ever that was smn, all people that did hardcore smn in shb hate new smn for a reason, i just see a lot of catla things mirror in this expansion, i hope they bounce back i really do but im not hyped for the new expansion by the road they took in ew
hoooo boy those dislikes are mounting lmao i've made an entire new character and redoing stuff on it and have been doing more of the previous expansions' content than endwalker, i haven't even started my relic on both my main and my alt >_>
Endwalker 6.x is to ffxiv the same the flood of light was to the first, stagnating
One of the things that stood out for me was the lack of things to do in the endgame of EndWalker. If you have already done savage and gotten your gear/done the extremes for your totem/mount trade then it feels like nothing left to do aside from what anyone would do like lvl a class up. Mind you I already do the stuff I said above along with having my combat classes all to 90 (including BLU at 80) and I have most of the crafters done already. But lvling is just something you can passively through dailies/weekly stuff. I really wish we have something like Eureka or the Bozjna Southern front like we did in Stormblood and Shadowerbringers to keep me busy doing something. At least the relics had me doing something. But dont get me wrong, I guess its nice that they arent as insane to grind out for this time but man it really leaves you with nothing to do. So I kinda feel bad for other players who only play casually too since if they dont do savage or extremes its even less stuff to work with. Not saying EndWalker is "bad" but I can see Zepla argument on it being kinda the "worst" expansion so far with the lack of things to do. Overall still loved the story for EndWalker and im still playing the game everyday still, But I wont deny that this expansion has been a little bit of a snore but maybe that was due to Covid and such which did affect a lot of things. Hopefully DawnTrail gives more stuff to do.
For me the story ended at 6.0 and I put the game to bed after 6.2. I am not very happy with how tanks are at right now and jobs just arent fun anymore. The same cycle of content is also getting very samey and i things like criterion dungeons werent enough to draw me back in. I dont really feel a strong desire to do savage and from what I've heard of the storylines of the 6.3 onwards isnt really enticing me back in. I feel happy to end the storyline on a high at the end of 6.0. My reaction to 7.0 was lukewarm…It was pretty and beautiful new zone but again I'm feeling time repeat itself – two more jobs, new zones, more savages etc.
I can only speak for me, but the reason why I am not logging in outside raids is a combination of things.
1: I think this is the more critical for the game. The patches feels like they have not changed for a long, long, long, long, long time. Sure we get a deepdungeon that kinda feels like the other two without anything really inovative.
2: There are just so many good games this year, and since FFXIV is not doing anything to make me want to login outside raiding I will play other games.
And most likely other things.
All in all I hope they review how they deliver patches. I still want them to have the 4months cycle, I just want them to do more with each patch then they are currently doing.
I subscribe to Elder Scrolls Online. It's not as good a game, but with XIV slowing down, it feels like this is my best chance to Branch out before the next expansion
I can't agree more with this video. Without rehashing what is being said, the only positive that I can say that came out of how lackluster the expansion is, it gave me time to near 100% the entire game. The only thing I haven't done is TOP and even that is almost done.
Been on and off this expansion, but still playing WAY more than when I was here for passed expansions. Kicking myself that I wasn't here for basically any of Shadowbringers (only expansion i wasn't here somewhat for). Haven't really minded there not being a lot of EW content. Still been having a lot of ton in the game. Discovered Bozja and Eureka, and both of those have been incredibly fun. Also, almost done collecting every ARR relic. <<That and leveling jobs have been pretty grindy and repetitive, but fulfilling.
More large group content!
At this point i feel like Yoshida will get so pressured from corporate and might (leave) the company, which will fuck the whole game up :0
Thanks for vocalizing what I've been saying with my friends for some time. It's really unhealthy/unfair that the community will crucify you for criticizing the game constructively. For a brand new to one year player, there are so many things to do and see and FFXIV can feel like the best game ever. For someone who has played since open beta day one, things have been feeling so predictable and it really feels like you have to incentivize reasons to play outside of the MSQ. There are so many (in my opinion) easy ways they could retain players. Like you said, the reward and gearing system needs to be shaken up so that this could happen. Just a few things off the top of my head: People love to chase mounts so add a recolored mount as a reward to dungeon bosses! Add tomestone gear as rare drops from deep dungeon/criterion/open world! Let PvPers exchange their currency for level 1 glam only versions of raid gear! Add a lite battle pass (no purchased premium since we already pay a sub) with fun daily open world tasks that lets you earn mog station mounts/minions/glams! The list could go on and on but it just amounts to lack of creativity from the devs, laziness, or just a fear of changing from their STRICT systems where you can only be rewarded ONE WAY from each different type of content. It has been 10 years. It is time to modernize some of these systems or retention will just continue to decline. Really looking forward to your part 2 "casual" discussion.
A lot of the issues with Endwalker's patches I feel like might be due to the fact a decent number of the devs seemed to also have been working on XVI? I could be wrong but the timing definitely seems to line up?
When you, a streamer with a huge community in FF, feels burnt out I feel like I'm not the one at fault for feeling burnt out on what is my favourite game of all time.
Yeah, one of the things i disliked was no eureka/bozja content, the variant dungeons were boring and i didn't bother with them much. and i absolutely hated how to obtain this expansions relics. i just skipped them.
In other words: The MSQ was decent, but the side content after it's done was dull.
it is such a blast listening Zepla to speak about FFXIV with such a passion… AND I NEVER PLAYED THE GAME hahha
You're awesome Zepla! Keep making the great videos π
The first person on earth who is saying endwalker is mid lmao
3:44 Goddamn, that Baldur's Gate 3 is really good though isn't it? Like holy crap that's a good game.
with all that, as casual I still preferred FF14 stance to let you go free doing what you wanted to than WOW keep constantly keep you playing the game…
there are so many great games coming out this year. of course, it lowering FF14 priority down in my game list but I'm fine with it since I just sub 1 month, play the heck out of it then stop for like three or four 6.x patches before I return for another one month to blaze through what I've missed without rushing at all. is it hurt the game longevity overall ? that's what SQEX to find out, not us gamers. I'm quite confident they had solution to this so they pulled it this way like people stop playing is no big deal to them.
I never considered relic content as casual (HW/Eureka/Bozja) as it take so/too much time to complete whole set for a person who can only play 2-3 hours a day.. although I managed to complete them all but damn, that took out a lot of me. EW relic is a "truely casual" relic for me as its easiest way to get cool weapon glam with the least effort even I rarely do roulette for tome because I'm personally took it as a daily chores. right now as return player, I'm prioritize more on island sanctuary catch-up + gathering + omni-crafter as my main over anything else (rip mog tome. yes I'm not doing it)
as for MSQ many people might forget that 6.0 alone has the same volumn as 5.0~5.3… so 6.1~after it feels like 5.4~5.5 to me. its a bit longer filler this time because it started to drag from 6.1~current which is 4 patches already so its not great for many people also for me. I've a great time with MSQ up to the end of 6.0 and that's it. after that I just held it at 6.1~pre6.2 MSQ and never touch it again even I've return to game recently after 6 months (maybe I will do it just before 7.0 come out). did AR and Pandaemonium a bit but already spoiled myself about bosses from watching world first race so I took less priority to do it and just leave it there.
I've nothing to say with combat and 2 minutes meta. I'll leave that to combat veteran. I'm casual AF and never even try or think to try savage or criterion. extreme was the most difficult stuff I did xD